May 09, 2025 | News
Review of the Rostock Open Science Workshop 2025
Insights into the impact of open science on science and society
In March 2025, the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) hosted the second Rostock Open Science Workshop in Rostock, Germany. The two-day event brought together researchers, scientists, and experts from around the world to discuss and learn about open science practices, with a focus on making research results and materials freely available to everyone. The workshop aimed to increase knowledge sharing, transparency and reproducibility of published results.
The second Rostock Open Science Workshop 2025 at the MPIDR. © MPIDR/Schulz
"We wanted to discuss the importance of Open Science - also outside academia - and reflect on the challenges and successes in implementing Open Science practices in our own research. We also wanted to invite a discussion on the many meanings of "open", also considering the current political climate in the U.S. and the related changes regarding academic freedom and the availability of government data," explains Ugofilippo Basellini, a scientist at MPIDR and one of the organizers of the event.
Many hands-on sessions and plenary discussions were held on how to use a reproducible and replicable workflow, even in contexts where the underlying data cannot be shared. Several discussions were held on recurring challenges and emerging threats to the adoption of an open source approach that counteract the individual and societal benefits of open science practices.
The workshop featured keynote speakers, including Philip N. Cohen of the University of Maryland and Sondre Solstad of The Economist, who shared their insights on the impact of open science on academia and the broader community. Practical sessions with expert instructors enabled participants to use open science tools in their daily work.
The organizers are already planning for the next event, with a third Rostock Open Science Workshop currently in the works.
"The second Rostock Open Science Workshop was an important step towards promoting open science practices in demographic research. In addition to the benefits for science and the general public, there are already many personal incentives (sometimes not fully visible) for adhering to open science practices," explains Ugofilippo Basellini. For this reason, the organizers are already planning a third workshop in the near future.
See the full program of the ROSW 2025 here.